Is Playing Violent Shooting Games a Sin?

[Jacob4Jesus]

My stepdad loves FPS games. I got him two for Christmas. Whenever my mom and I are playing Mario Party (Yes, I know I am a dork), we always ask him if he wants to play and he always says that if he can't shoot people's heads off, he doesn't want to play.

 

[xAtheistx]

Awfully big brush you're painting gamers with there.

Meh. Wasn't trying to generalize maturity...

But how much "intellectual stimulation" do you think that gamer recieved from the gracious teachings of FPS?

 

[xAtheistx]

he always says that if he can't shoot people's heads off, he doesn't want to play.

Here’s a jingle for Goldfish,
​

Yes, baked and not fried Goldfish.
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The wholesome snack that smiles back until you bite their heads off.
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Did you know they’re made with real cheese,
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Even though they look like fishies,
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The snack that smiles back, Goldfish
​

 

[Jetgirl]

Meh. Wasn't trying to generalize maturity...

But how much "intellectual stimulation" do you think that gamer recieved from the gracious teachings of FPS?

Who says that everything fun has to be intellectually stimulating?

It's healthy to do stuff that is just fun every so often. Work is really stressful, I'm on my mental feet, so to speak, all day long, so I come home and blow away some Stroggs for a while, before I jump back in to being a hausfrau while I'm not teaching myself quantum mechanics (I'm not kidding, I really am) and learning to use photoshop, and some C++, and reading Michner's "Space" in my off moments.

 

[xAtheistx]

Who says that everything fun has to be intellectually stimulating?

I certainly don't... but Helo said:

FPS games can provide a certain level of intellectual stimulation.

...

 

[Helo]

It's ridiculous to try to prove something in the negative (that it does not take skill)... we went over this.

I can certainly try though, by giving you an example of the types of people who play FPS.

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-7153152098207965240

(turn your sound on and up; no worries, there's no screaming banshee at the end... except maybe a kid)

Ok, so theres one little punk out of the millions of gamers.

Ever been to a car show? How about an anime convetion? Ren Fair?

These kinds of people are in EVERY special interest group. Doesnt mean the whole group is bad

 

[Jetgirl]

I certainly don't... but Helo said:


...

You know, I was just thinking about it last night and I actually do agree with him.

The amount of work that goes into some of these FPS's is incredible. I threw Quake 4 on godmode last night so I could just wander around and look at the scenery. The concept design, rendering, and final layout are all extremely impressive. The enviroment is realistic and interesting. The characters and enemies movements are intuitive and convincing.

Behind all that are many very talented people who make the worlds and weapons come to life. (Try the dark matter cannon, it's awesome!)

I can repeat all this for Call of Duty (incredible! AI in that game), Half-Life, and even RPGs like World of Warcraft.

I know more people who have been inspired to learn about programming and rendering because of their interest in these games, who create artwork, stories, and other creative projects from these games.

So saying that they have no intellectual content ignoring all the highly intellectual work that goes into these games.

 

[Helo]

I agree with Jet.

She cited Call Of Duty as an example, a game like that also gives you a chance to see what it was like to fight on the battlefields of world war 2. The realism is amazing and you almost feel like your there, you get to see what it was like for your grandfather.

 

[xAtheistx]

Ok, so theres one little punk out of the millions of gamers.

Ever been to a car show? How about an anime convetion? Ren Fair?

These kinds of people are in EVERY special interest group. Doesnt mean the whole group is bad

... Duh. I'm in the group. But it doesn't "provide a certain level of intellectual stimulation."

The amount of work that goes into some of these FPS's is incredible. ..

Nobody's disputing that it's a lot of work to make a decent game.

I know more people who have been inspired to learn about programming and rendering because of their interest in these games, who create artwork, stories, and other creative projects from these games.

So saying that they have no intellectual content ignoring all the highly intellectual work that goes into these games.

That's those people. They like what they see, and would like to be able to do it. But they have to go into the books to get the data, to be "provide [sic] a certain level of intellectual stimulation."

And I've played CoD. Great game. And it may have been educational (if only about the location and people in a certain battle), but I don't think I was intellectually stimulated...